Julian Priestley to step down as Secretary-General of the European Parliament

On Monday evening, the Bureau of the European Parliament accepted a request from the Secretary-General of the Institution, Julian Priestley, to step down from his post.

Mr Priestley's term in the job will end in March next year, by which time he will have held the office for ten years. In this period, he has served four Presidents of the Institution, has overseen its growth from an assembly drawn from 15 Members States to one representing 27 and has guided the organisation through a period of great political and institutional change.

European Parliament President Josep Borrell was joined by the Bureau as a whole in paying homage to the great competence and commitment shown by Mr Priestley throughout his mandate and in hailing the great number of services rendered by him to the institution with unfailing loyalty. His record greatly honoured the European public service.

As Secretary-General, Julian Priestley has enjoyed the support and appreciation of parliamentarians from across the political spectrum for his even-handedness and unparalleled political and administrative skill in this most complex of environments. For the staff, his personal career path has meant he has always been "one of us", first and foremost a defender of the European Parliament as an institution and a standard bearer for parliamentary democracy in the EU.

Priestley (56), a British EU official, has dedicated his professional life to the European Parliament, joining its administration as a junior administrator upon UK accession in 1973 and moving up the ranks, in both administrative and political jobs, ever since. Prior to becoming Secretary-General in 1997, he ran the secretariat of the Socialist group in the Parliament (then its largest), and moved on to act as chief of staff to President Klaus Hänsch.